


Manufactured Match

by setosdarkness



Series: Only the Ring Finger Knows [3]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6442432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finding someone wearing a ring that matches your design is supposed to be a sign that you’ve found your soulmate—or so the newest fad of their generation proclaims. </p><p>The moment Izaya sees Shizuo consider buying one of those rings, he makes it a mission to find where the matching rings are and buy them all. Izaya says it’s because it’s funny to see Shizuo get a ring then realize he has no soulmate. Shinra thinks he’s just an idiot in denial.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Manufactured Match

*

The person who you have a matching ring with is the person you’re destined to spend your happily-ever-after with.

It’s the latest romantic craze of their generation.

Truth be told, it’s 99% likely that someone just thought of a diabolical and smart plan to quickly earn money. The population of under-21 hormone-afflicted teenagers compose a strong target market, after all. That’s not even counting all these humans who are already beyond their teenage years but have yet to find a permanent object of requited affections.

It’s a golden opportunity to start this craze that promises hopes of matched rings and what-not.

Orihara Izaya doesn’t care for the capitalistic reasoning behind the craze, for he’s giddy with glee with how his beloved humans are all atwitter and aflutter with their delusions fueled by this fad.

It’s a mass hypnosis - nobody even dares bring up the fact that these rings are _manufactured_ and thus making the so-called soulmate-matching _manufactured_ as well.

It’s entertaining to observe.

So for the seventh straight day, Izaya sits on a rooftop ledge overlooking Ikebukuro, his phones in his coat pockets, his gaze fixed on the traffic of people filled with conversations about the ring fad: a couple of _ganguro_ with matching friendship rings looking at new designs; a nervous-looking salaryman taking off his wedding ring and replacing it with another ring; some gang members prowling around for their prey who had apparently dared to wear a ring matching that of their leader’s woman.

Near one end of the street, with the ring shop’s display by the sidewalk, the ganguro are joined by a blond bartender—

Huh.

Izaya giggles in glee.

So it seems the monster wants to be part of humanity.

This he has to see for himself.

 

***

 

“So, like the cowardly pest that you are, you sneaked around and removed all of your competition?”

Izaya waves an unaffected hand towards his one and only friend’s direction. His left hand brings the bland cup of tea to his lips, amused by Shinra’s way of asking him to not stay too long by serving him such a bad cup.

“What competition are you talking about, Shinra? Were you even listening to me?”

“I was listening, you dummy. And I heard it loud and clear, you just said that ‘Shizuo’s mine, all mine’.”

“Did my dear courier finally hit you too hard in the head?”

“Gross. Izaya, don’t call my dear Celty that! She’s only dear to me! Ah, Celty ♥!”

“ _You_ ’re gross.” Izaya wrinkles his nose as Shinra made grabbing hands in the air that looked infinitely lecherous and inexperienced at the same time. It’s probably for his health’s best interests that the Dullahan is out on a job right now. “And Shizu-chan, really? I wouldn’t want to own a pet monster, even if you paid me.”

“But that’s because you’re already filthy rich with your filthy money, Izaya.”

“I _know_ , isn’t that lovely?”

“And you’re running away from your realization now,” Shinra says with that annoying know-it-all tone of his. He settles on the couch beside Izaya, but there’s a few centimeters separating them. They’re a strange pair of friends who’d be fine, if it really came down to it, with getting stabbed in the other’s behalf, but that didn’t mean that they wanted to actually touch each other if it doesn’t have to happen.

“I _don’t_ run away, Shinra.”

“Says the one who stalked Shizuo, got a copy of his ring, then searched the whole Japan for matching copies of the ring, then bought them all.”

“It’s only the Tokyo area. Why would I go to the trouble of searching the whole country? I’m a busy man.”

“You’re such an idiot. A cowardly idiot who runs away.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Izaya smiles, all-teeth, the closest he’ll come to threatening Shinra to shut up without bringing his knife out in the open.

“Do me a favor and make sure to treat me and Celty to an expensive getaway vacation once you _do_ actually get what I mean.”

 

***

 

“You’re being mean, Shizuo.”

“I told you I’ll punch you if you tell Izaya, didn’t I?”

“W-W-Wait, Shizuo! I didn’t, I promise!” Shinra waves his hands around in flailing self-defense. He’s fine with getting punched, as long as it’s his beloved Celty!

He’s fine with getting punched by Shizuo, actually, but that’s only as long as he can get to analyze the strength behind the other’s physical abilities! The two of them are meeting rather far away from Shinra’s laboratory and he only brought his briefcase with the bare minimum of his tools. It’s only meant to make it appear as though he’s here for his job, after all.

Shizuo stares at him for a half-minute, before grunting, seemingly satisfied with his innocence.

“Don’t tell him, Shinra. I mean it.”

Shinra thinks that if anyone else - except maybe Izaya, because that guy’s on a whole other level - were to see and hear Shizuo now, serious expression on his face that promises casual destruction, they’d probably faint in fear.

“Sure thing!” Thankfully, Shinra’s fears only revolve Celty and his love for her, so he isn’t affected.

Plus, while it’s a bit entertaining to see Izaya go around town in clear denial of his own fear - that Shizuo might actually find a soulmate or a partner through the rings - he doesn’t have enough incentive or reason to actually tell that cowardly friend of his that he’s just playing along Shizuo’s plan.

It’s even more amusing to know that Shizuo’s cunning enough to let himself be spotted by Izaya looking at those rings actually. Izaya’s reaction is rather predictable, but that’s what make it fun to watch.

“I’m rooting for your love, after all, Shizuo! If you keep Izaya busy, then Izaya won’t ask for Celty so much for his jobs, then I get more lovey-dovey time with Celty, so it’s all good!”

“Then make sure to continue helping me.”

“Sure thing!” Shinra chirps again - because it’s not a lot of work, really. All he has to do is listen to Izaya rant to himself about how monsters don’t deserve soulmates and how he’s experimenting on how Shizuo will look once he realizes that his possibility of getting that romance via the ring fad is in Izaya’s clutches.

Well, alright, it’s kind of annoying to hear Izaya rant sometimes, but it’s not _that_ much of a pain.

If only Izaya knew that Shizuo’s only doing these things to egg Izaya on in realizing _his_ feelings...

Shizuo growls again, as though sensing Shinra’s desire to spoil the game to Izaya.

Shinra raises his hands in a placating manner again.

After all, even with how idiotic Izaya can get, he’s still an information broker.

Information like this doesn’t escape him.

It’s only a matter time until he realizes this and then Celty will become less busy and then they’ll go to that honeymoon-like vacation and—

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“You’re smiling creepily again.”

“Ah, thank you for such an astute, but unwarranted, observation, Namie-san! No wonder your brother doesn’t see you as a romantic interest!”

Namie huffs and slams the door on her way out of Izaya’s office apartment.

Izaya laughs as he spins around in his chair, feeling the satisfaction of a hard day’s work bearing fruit. Once the spinning slows to a stop, he replies to his ever reliable feelers in the city, who had successfully sighted Shinra and Shizu-chan meeting in some shady bar, most likely talking about him like gossiping housewives.

He then pulls open a drawer, the one where he’s stored all of the rings that matched the one that Shizu-chan bought that time.

It’s pleasantly surprising, really.

His beloved humans continue to surprise him every time. It seems that even this monster is capable of surpassing his expectations _this_ way.

Shizu-chan thinks he’s so clever, thinking that he’s manipulating him into realizing his feelings.

Izaya wonders when Shizu-chan - or Shinra, really - would realize that Izaya himself was the one who funded that ring shop by the sidewalk, the one who had sent spam mails to Shizu-chan’s email about the ring fad, the one who wanted Shizu-chan to realize his feelings first.

The person who you have a matching ring with is the person you’re destined to spend your happily-ever-after with.

It’s the latest romantic craze of their generation.

It’s a mass hypnosis - nobody even dares bring up the fact that these rings are manufactured and thus making the so-called soulmate-matching manufactured as well.

Orihara Izaya has no scruples against manufacturing Shizu-chan’s love for him.

It’s more entertaining that way.


End file.
